SPRINGVILLE, Utah — The USDA Forest Service says a fire burning in Spring Canyon is 15 percent contained.
The fire started early Saturday morning, the cause is being blamed on fireworks, according to Springville Fire officials. The fire has burned an estimated 140 acres.
At approximately 2:20 a.m., Springville, Utah County, Mapleton, Spanish Fork and Salem firefighters were called to a fire burning at the east end of 400 South, according to a press release from Springville Department of Public Safety.
At least two teenagers were lighting sparklers by the city’s culinary water tank when the sparks ignited the dry tinder in the area, said Lt. Dave Caron with Springville Police. The area is restricted to fireworks.
Police said the teens called for help, but, because of the extreme fire conditions, the flames spread rapidly.
Ten homes were evacuated and 40 were put on standby; the evacuations were later lifted.
"We were just sleeping and the police rang the doorbell, it was kind of starting actually, anyway they told us we had to be out as soon as we could and I got the family out, it was pretty scary," said David Lee. "We thought there was a chance it was going to take out some homes."
A few houses away, David Graham took matters into his own hands. He and his brother grabbed the hose.
"We did soak down the house, soak down the roof, the grass and everything, so everything was wet last night," Graham said. "Really, we were watching the flag out front because the flag kept switching directions toward the house away from the house, toward the house."
The fire has since shifted up the mountain. Two air tankers, three helicopters and four single engine planes could be seen dropping more than 10,000 gallons of water on hot spots throughout the day. More than 150 firefighters from five different states are working together to monitor an active flame front.
"It's going to take a few days to get it out, we get a lot of hot spots and if it's burning with heavier fuels that takes a lot of work to get those out. It depends what winds do, the topography," said Kim Osborn of the Forest Service.
